Music

Veteran singer Bappi Lahiri, who has lent his voice for a song in Phantom Films' "Hunterrr 303", says he has decided to do only selective work.

"I want to retain my brand and do only selective work. But if I get some good project, I will take that. I have achieved a lot and just want to be in this industry to do some good work," Lahiri told IANS.

The film will be produced by Atul Patel and Sajan Agarwal under the banner Modern Movie Pvt Ltd, and is slated to hit the screens in April 2015.

"I am almost done with the shoot of my movie and we have a brilliant music score too. Jubin Nautiyal has sung 'Nadaan dil', a beautiful romantic song, which has the true essence of our story. The song is very earthy and soulful. Jubin has done the job splendidly," Agarwal told IANS.

Nautiyal is known for songs like "Meherbani" ("The Shaukeens") and "Ek mulaqat" ("Sonali Cable").

The music album of "Game Paisa Ladki" will have a total of six songs, which are composed by artists like Neha Kakkar, Kunal Ganjawala, Amit and Sonu Kakkar.

"They are all brilliant singers," said the director, adding that "'Nadaan dil' is pretty close to my heart."

"I love awards. I think it's truly a recognition and that's what we all are working for. When an award is given to me, it's a recognition. I hope I get an award and I love it," Usha, known for her powerful and unique voice, told IANS.

"At least I am honest about it. Everybody feels it, but not all are willing to say it. My fruit is when the audience reacts and I love that," she added.

However, while many lyricists and singers are of the opinion that the lyrics don't make any sense these days, Usha says it's a trend.

"I am not an authority of any kind to opine about lyrics. There are lot of artists who are saying horrible things about the music, but I have always been a positive thinker and a compulsive optimist. I do believe if given a chance it will become a classic," she said.

"The audience is not a fool... Why feel so bad about it? Let it come. It's a trend," she added.

The plummeting popularity of pop music as compared to Bollywood music is quite evident from the trending music tracks. But music composer Adnan Sami says he has not forgotten the genre and will continue his work to strengthen it.

"I have composed and sung for many Bollywood films as well. But my commitment towards pop albums is strong," he posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.

He is credited with giving some soulful tracks with albums like "Tera Chehra", "Kabhi To Nazar Milao".

"Coke Studio@ MTV", an experiment in fusion music, is returning with its fourth season in an “always on” format, wherein one musical composition, as a video and audio, will be released every week; and more live concerts will be organised for music aficianados across the country.

Singers in the season include Rekha Bhardwaj, Jyoti Nooran and Harshdeep Kaur.

Starting March 1, every first Sunday of the months till the season continues, "Coke Studio@MTV" will release a musical composition, both as a stylised video and audio, along with multiple elements that will capture the journey of making the music, including studio sessions, producer profiles and more.

Each of these videos and audio will be simultaneously released on all MTV platforms and deployed across all audio and video platforms like YouTube, Saavn, Gaana and iTunes by Zee Music.

MTV will also be re-releasing two audience favourites "Madari" and "Kattey" with new videos to kick off "Coke Studio@MTV Season 4". Additionally, live experiences through more than 50 concerts and outreach programs, reaching 100 colleges across 10 cities, will be a star attraction.

Debabrata Mukherjee, vice president (Marketing and Commercial), Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, said: “'Coke Studio' is a platform, owned by a community of millions of music lovers. That makes it easy for us, because this community tells us what to do. But that also puts a huge responsibility on us because we have to ensure that we meet their expectations.

"What they have asked of us, is to change the format and make it ‘always on’, ‘yearlong’ and as ‘singles’ rather than an album. We have made an honest attempt to deliver on these."

After producing 140 songs with over 400 artistes, the hunger to delight music fans has driven MTV to give the "Coke Studio" format a whole new beat, says the channel's executive vice president and business head Aditya Swamy.

"While music will always be at the very heart of this production, we have introduced new elements that build a deeper content experience. As classic meets contemporary, we are excited about starting a new chapter in the music bible of India," he said.